Kholat starter guide

This guide is not an achievement guide, or walkthrough. It'll give you some tips & tricks about the game, what to do, your equipment, etc...

Story

Have you watched the introduction video?
Then I don't have much to tell you... Students have disappeared in the Ural mountains, on mount Kholat Syakhl, they've been found dead weeks later, and it's inspired from a true story... Spooky... Ho and you're a daredevil curious hiker that don't seem to mind much about having vision of dead people souls and about beeing chased by a unknow deadly force. Ye be warned!

Equipement

In this game you found your equipement shortly after the start. It is composed of a log book, a map of the area, a compass, and a flashlight, (and some clothes I guess).
Your compass and your map are your most important equipment in the game, it'll help you travel in this snowy landscape. Everytime you found something interesting it'll be noted on your map, whether it is a piece of paper (diary, article...) a safeplace (tent and fire camp) or a building (in ruin most of the times).

Your log book will be used to glue in diaries, articles, and such. You can sometimes hear a paper sound in the wind, it indicates a note is nearby.

On the map you can see coordinates written, they indicates buildings or places you need to visit. You can see that as an objective list. Everytime you visit one of them, its coordinates on the map will be crossed off just like that.

The compass will give you the four cardinal points. In Kholat North is red & South is black. Just FYI Северная is North (pronounces Severnaya just like in Goldeneye64) and на юг is South (pronounces na yug, just like in google translate). It may also keep you out of danger, we'll see this later.

Your flashlight will light up things in case it gets dark, amazing right? But not only, we'll see this later, again.

Stamina

By the time you've read this, you're already winded.

The Anomaly

Or ghost, or shade, or whatever you want to name it, will try to kill you from time to time. A good thing to notice it in the surrounding is to always have your compass "open", as when the Anomaly is close by the compass needle will first flicker, then go totally wild. The flashlight will also blink when the Anomaly is close. You can notice its footsteps as well, bright orange fire-like human footstep that disappear after a while. When you notice your compass or light is going nuts, dont panic, try to do a 360° no flashlight to see where it can be. Once you've spotted it, U-turn and use your terrific stamina to put some distance between you and "it". It should disappear after a short moment if you're far enough.

Something interesting I have noticed (eventhough I'm not 100% sure about it, I'm giving it to you) it's that when the Anomaly "flashes" to disappear, passing from dark shadow to small yellow glowing cloud, it actually just turns invisible and stays put for a short duration. So don't rush thinking all danger is gone.

Another important thing about the Anomaly, I don't know why but it doesn't like when you points your flashlight to it. It will usually turn bright orange when you do so, and sometimes rush toward you. Don't get on its nerves, you'll live longer.

The orange cloud

Definitely not full of good vitamin C, and not a sun tan lotion accident, these orange clouds are usually appearing to make you haste passing some areas of the game, forcing you through specific path, or "hunting" you. Don't go into them, as the Anomaly will kill you, but avoid them, by running or hiding into buildings. And don't get out as long as they're not gone, as the Anomaly will kill you, again. I could go on with Will of Orange puns, but it's just not the tone of the game.

The saving system

In Kholat you can't save whenever you want to. The save system is automated, and trigger when you grab a note, or travel using a firecamp. This is important.

Example: you head toward the East, find a note, the game is saved. Then you decide to go elsewhere, to the West for example. As you explore the west area you find notes, and then a firecamp, game saved. You then decide to travel to the center of the map using the firecamp, game saved. Explore East, again, quite a long way, and then you die because, let's say, orange cloud. The saving system will bring you back to the middle of the map and you'll have to walk all the way back to East again, and try to understand why you died. But unfortunately you die again. This can be quite irritating after a couple of time. Quite.

To avoid that, try to always stick to an area, and explore it as much as you can, the notes will act as some kind of saving beacon on your way to the next firecamp.
To use the fast travel, press your use button when pointing at the tent, then click on one of the firecamp on your map.

Here is a list of firecamps coordinates, clockwise from south-west to north :
The one where you start: 31"N 59"E.
Near the church: 53"N 33"E.
On the way between church and altar: 57"N 49"E.
Between altar & hunter's hut: 62"N 62"E.
The one by the forest: 40"N 87"E. I suggest you reach this one by the north.
The one close to the entrance of the caves area: 20"N 80"E.
The one near the north lake: 11"N 61"E. You're likely to find this one just when you need it.

With Patch 1.01 the last save of the game is now in Act 2 (no longer in Act 3), which allow to finish the game and then to go back and explore the surroundings, or find journal pages, etc...

Coordinates

You will spot several coordinates written glowing white on stones, or on the ground, they don't mark the place where you are, I was misleaded by that at first, they actually indicates points of interests, notes most of the times, but also firecamps. Things to look for anyway, so go there, okay?

Lasts things

Go have a look at Kelso's "All Journal Locations" guide, it provides you a fully revealed map, usefull and efficient.

I will update this guide if other usefull things come to my mind, thanks for reading :-)

[Axl Dread]

@gensou_tsuki Fairly simple indeed.
Do the exact opposite of not moving. Tada! You move!

[Moimee]

Thank you

[k3ntry]

@Ziggy

[k3ntry]

Options - Video
then change the resolution or / fullscreen

[Rick_Core]

can you tell me how to change the resolution cause i cant change it

[Sung Jinwoo]

cool

[marius2516]

Awesome

[NoctuaNympha]

Nice humour. Good guide, pays attention to details. Thanks.

[gensou_tsuki]

how do I move?

[YannisP2004]

Useful tips for starters, had no idea going into the game blind. The in-game scenery is beautiful and plays wonderfully on my lowly nVidia GTX 950m!